The present application relates to a cooking utensil cover; and, more particularly a disposable, steam-permeable, fire-retardant, sorbent, segmented lid for covering a stovetop cooking utensil.
Foods prepared on a conventional cooking surface having a heating element, such as a stove, are usually cooked and/or contained within a cooking utensil, such as a frying pan, griddle, or the like which is adapted to be placed proximate a stovetop heating element and has a cooking platform with connected upstanding sidewalls which terminate at a rim. These utensils are traditionally covered by a solid non-porous metallic, glass, or ceramic cooking cover or lid to prevent cooking spatter, generated when using higher temperatures for cooking. This is especially true when frying meat or preparing those foods cooked with oil, since these food items tend to spatter grease and/or cooking juices. In the absence of this cover, the grease/cooking juice spatter tends to cover the cooking surface and the surrounding area. In cases of enclosed burner elements this spatter burns onto the cooking surface, making clean up difficult. In the case of an open burner, or flame, the grease can actually ignite. Even a non-metallic cover, because of the proximity of grease and heating element, is not adequate in that it is easily ignitable. Thus, many of the current covers for use in microwave ovens are not adaptable for use on a stovetop heated element.
These non-porous cooking covers or lids, although effective against spatter, prevent steam generated during cooking from escaping. The ability for steam to escape the cooking utensil is a desirable part in preparing many foods. Porous “screens” have been used for this purpose, but they allow all the steam to escape along with entrained grease. Additionally, these screen-type lids or cooking covers need to be washed requiring additional clean-up. More importantly, certain food items emit steam during cooking which at least partially needs to escape from the utensil to prevent pressure build-up; yet, they require at least a partial retention of the steam to properly cook the food. Attempts to meet this requirement have met with limited success. Some have proposed a non-absorbent, porous or sintered glass material that allows the partial egress of vaporized liquids along with entrained grease. Others have proposed absorbent lids which allow absorption of grease. However, prior art covers of lids that are absorbent are supported on a frame making at least part of the cover non-disposable.
Many times, one desires to cook more than a single food item in a single utensil, such as, for example, bacon, eggs, and potatoes, each with different cooking duration and preparation, including differing the required duration of covering. Some of these food items, and especially those which involve grease in their preparation or expel grease during cooking, need to be covered entirely, while others do not.
It, therefore, would be desirable to have a rigid, steam-permeable, sorbent, and completely disposable, fire-resistant, lid or cover for a cooking utensil designed for use on a heated stovetop which contained individual segments, each having a bendable interface, that can be independently elevated to allow the covering of certain foods during preparation, but provide for the uncovering selected foodstuffs in the same cooking utensil.